PORAC, Pampanga (PIA) – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has reiterated that the interests of Ayta Indigenous Peoples (IP) in Porac town must be prioritized in the development and utilization of their ancestral domain.
CHR Region III Regional Director Atty. Leorae Valmonte stressed this during the Pamisanmetung Para Quing Karapatan, a community-based dialogue and legal clinic caravan held in Barangay Inararo.
The initiative brought together national government agencies to promote their respective projects and programs that may benefit the Ayta communities.
With tourism-related development emerging in the area such as new resorts and game fowl farms, protecting their ancestral domain remains a major concern for the Aytas.
Department of Tourism (DOT) Region III Regional Director Richard Daenos assured the community of the agency’s continuing support for Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs).
He said that DOT’s ecotourism initiatives aim to preserve cultural identity while creating employment, training, and accreditation opportunities for Ayta residents.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is also pushing for sustainable farm tourism development.
DA Region III Agriculturist II Melody Valdez said that the agency will bring here the Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo or the 4K Program to boost farming by providing them training on improving their productivity.
DA aims to promote the cultivation of high-value crops like those used in ‘Pinakbet’, and native fruits such as lansones, rambutan, and banana.
Barangay Inararo Lupon Tagapamayapa Roy Guiao, an Ayta leader, acknowledged the positive impact of farm-to-market roads, which facilitated the bringing of harvests and sending of children to school.
However, Guiao noted the community’s limited access to transportation due to lack of licensed drivers.
In response, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Legal Department representative Atty. Azril Dogaong is urging the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to conduct a mobile licensing that will provide theoretical and practical driving lessons to eligible Aytas, especially the youth.
Meawhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is closely monitoring 45 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and is now looking at the current condition of around 200 Aytas.
For Sorito Baclay, an Ayta and licensed professional teacher, 4Ps helped a lot to boost the enrollment and interests of young Aeta to go to school and finish basic education on time.
He said that education is really a great multiplier for the indigenous people to realize their dreams and get out of poverty.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Government of Porac has conducted a medical mission with free HIV-AIDS testing, and also distributed free contraceptives. (MJSC/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
